March 24, 2008

I can't find the advisor who got me my last car. I can't find my prior personal fitness coach. They've moved on. But where? Their prior employers won't say and their replacements aren't good enough. How can I find the originals and buy more from them?

Your clients (and prospects) may have difficulty tracking you down too --- especially if you move and are prohibited from contacting your old clients.

Here are three easy ways clients can find you

your personal website

periodic emails

your personal phone number

Your Personal WebsiteCan a search engine find you? If not, you can easily get your own personal website and put your contact information on it. Search engines will find you soon enough. You can even track the keywords visitors used to reach you using Google Analytics. You'll be easier to track down with an unusual name, tagline or catch phrase. I'm actually easier to find with "marketing actuary" than my own name. My current tagline "the passion for simple" strikes out. A self-created word works (e.g., riscario), if anyone can remember the spelling.

You can easily create a basic website online using templates. All my sites (Spark Insight, Riscario and PromodSharma.com) are hosted for free (and ad-free) on the Wikidot Publishing Network at www.wikidot.com. You can make your site private until you're ready to show the world.

If you want to register a domain name (e.g., your name), see if it's available using a service like DomainsAtCost.ca. You can register there ($14.95/yr) or through another service like netfirms.com ($5.95 US in the first year and then $9.95) and 1and1.com ($6.99 US/yr). You can then redirect your domain name to your website by following instructions.

Periodic EmailsBusiness cards are easy to misplace and giving fridge magnets may not be your style. If you send periodic emails, your clients may still have them in their emailbox. Noncorporate email accounts (e.g., Google Mail) offer so much storage that messages are easier to keep --- even spam --- than delete. Since familiarity breeds business, you can't lose by staying in contact with your clients.

Personal Phone NumberSome advisors provide clients and prospects with a nonwork phone number. This is perceived as an extra personal touch. It's also a way for people to track you down. You may even want to get a personal portable toll-free number.

My car advisor and fitness coach are losing business because I can't track them down. How much are you losing when people can't find you?

Volunteers in nonprofits have good intentions. Yet they sometimes complicate their lives by using old proprietary tools. The business world ...

About

We're all in marketing and need help to improve. Since 2007, Promod Sharma ("pro-MODE"), actuary to the wealthy, has shared what he's learned here.

Promod doesn't sell any marketing-related services. He's spent his entire career in the universe of life & health insurance. Through Taxevity, he assesses and addresses neglected insurance needs in Toronto, Ontario.